Wounded
by DefaultMe
Summary: Explore the brothers' love and hate for each other and their complicated relationship. Damon-Stefan. Also mentions other characters.
1. Prologue

**CHAPTER 1**

'Damon...Damon…please…'  
>'I can't…I can't…it's too late now…leave me alone…I wanna die…'<p>

Stefan couldn't stop the fresh tears that were coming out of his eyes and sliding down his cheeks. The sight of Damon breaking in front of him alone broke his heart to pieces. However, none could compare to what he was feeling now when he heard Damon say he wanted to die, sounding all broken and hopeless. It just killed him.

'No…I wouldn't let you…you have to try! – please, Damon, look at me…I don't want you to leave me…' Stefan was fighting very hard to keep himself in control. He couldn't break down now, not when his brother was still contemplating suicide.

Damon had refused to drink blood of the woman who Stefan had kidnapped earlier and used his power to compel her into giving in. He was reluctant to complete the transformation. Katherine, the woman he loved, had died, leaving him all alone.

His father was the one who had found out that she was a vampire and captured her when she was in his little brother's room. She had been weakened by the vervain in Stefan's blood; no doubt his father had laced Stefan's drinks with the substance while he was unaware. _Was he?_

Damon couldn't be sure if Stefan was in on the plan but all the same; his brother had betrayed him. Not only had Stefan been the one to tell on Katherine to his father, she had also chosen the brat over him in their sick love triangle.

What actually made Damon very angry was the fact that Stefan didn't shy away from the relationship. He made no effort to stay away from her and with no respect whatsoever to his older brother, Stefan went on to vie for her love even though his brother clearly knew that Katherine was his. Feeling betrayed, he had started to form a grudge against Stefan – the little brother whom he used to love with his whole heart.

It wasn't love that filled his heart at the moment; it was agony, envy and pure hate. He began to think about revenge against his brother. Suddenly he was filled with a strange determination. He had wanted to die in the first place because he was awash with great sorrow at Katherine's death but now, finally looking at his brother after hearing his pleas and cries, Damon made up his mind.

'I'll…I'll do it…'

Relieved by his brother's willingness to do what he asked, Stefan smiled a little to show his gratitude. Damon stared at him all the time while biting and sucking blood at the victim's exposed neck. It wasn't long before he gave in to the animal within and Damon turned wild. His fangs bared and mind gone crazy, he ravaged at his victim – or food, as Damon now realized, mercilessly.

Only after a while did he let go of the woman, now dead and drained of blood. He tossed the corpse easily aside, feeling much stronger and better than before.

Stefan made a move to hug him and kept telling him he was sorry but suddenly, one of his brother's hands flew up and gripped his neck tight. 'Damon…what are…you doing?' Stefan attempted to speak while frantically clutching at his brother's hand to release his iron-hold grip. 'Please.' His green eyes, scared and confused, caught Damon's light blue ones which were filled with anger and hatred.

'Shut up. Listen to me –'

'Please, Damon…' Stefan whispered imploringly at his older brother.

'Shut up!' Shocked and scared out of his mind, the younger boy became quiet and grew still though his eyes continued to search his brother's frantically for some sort of comprehension.

'I hope you listen to me now, _little brother._ You've taken away everything from me. You stole my love –'

'Damon, I –' Stefan began before his brother suddenly shouted 'Silence!' and Stefan immediately fell quiet.

'You've wronged me, you've wronged me so much, Stefan. You betrayed me. You stole the love of my life and you killed her. For all the years I have been standing up for you, protecting you, caring for you little brother, you just have to go and mess it up!'

Tears were flowing freely down his cheeks now and Stefan yearned to tell him 'I'm sorry'. Damon, however, wouldn't let him speak.

'Now you've made me turn into this, so I could be a monster and so…we could have each other for all eternity…well…let me make it clear to you, Stefan –' Damon's eyes turned hard.

'I would make you suffer as long as you're…in this state, just as you made my human life miserable. I would make you regret for turning me. _I would give you an eternity of misery.'_

Damon threw Stefan to the side and flew off into the night.

As emotional pain struck him, Stefan curled into himself and cried uncontrollably for several hours. His heart was ripped into pieces as he slowly realized he had lost his brother forever.


	2. Little Brother

**CHAPTER 2**

_Stefan was walking along the road back to the inn he was staying that night. If he wanted, he could have just used his lightning speed to reach the place quickly. Nevertheless, he had always preferred walking. The cool night air often soothed him as calmness overtook his mind. He was able to rewind all of his memories – the ones he cherished and those he'd rather left them be._

_Invariably, his mind dwelled back over that last encounter with his older brother. It was the last time he had seen Damon. He began to feel a knot in his chest as he replayed his brother's accusations and reimagined the hatred in his eyes. _How could he have broken Damon's trust so completely?_ – Stefan silently blaming himself. _

_It had now been 50 years since then. Stefan had neither seen nor heard of his brother. Despite Damon's vow to give him an eternity of misery, his older brother had simply vanished without another word. Each day that had gone by found him praying more and more for his brother's return. He couldn't care less if Damon decided to hit him, torture him or make his vampire life an undead-living hell; he would take all of that if it meant he could see his older brother again. The pain that resulted from being abandoned by his brother was unbearable. They used to be so close, closer than any other brothers he had ever known. Stefan had adored Damon and his brother had always loved him more than anyone else. Until the day that woman came, destroying everything that they had always shared._

_Stefan's anger overwhelmed his guilt and sadness. His eyes became darker and he could feel the fangs started to appear. He was so preoccupied with his despise for Katherine that he failed to notice the sound of someone running at a speed not altogether normal for a human, moving towards him._

'_Ah!' Stefan cried out when he felt a weight crushing him from behind. He immediately tried to free himself however, he found himself being pinned to the ground._

'_Don't try to fight.' He heard a female voice spoke in a very calm manner. 'Or I will kill you.'_

Stefan awoke from his sleep with a start. His ears were still ringing with the female vampire's voice. Immediately, his eyes settled on the figure sitting on a chair near his bed, facing him. Damon was looking at Stefan curiously. 'Good morning, sunshine.'

His brother smirked and then, without waiting for his reply, he suddenly got out of his chair and moved out of his room. Stefan – still dazed from his sleep – was silent for a moment, trying to process the whole thing. _Was he watching me sleep? _– Stefan mused to himself. After a while, he sighed and forced down the memory that the dream had brought up. It was time to get ready for school.

It seemed funny that after 145 years, Stefan was still going to school. The bane of a continued existence, frozen forever in the same state until the end of time. It wasn't that Stefan didn't like school; he knew that he had to go through the motions so as not to get anyone suspicious. Besides, he had already grown a liking to this school and more significantly, its students. Or maybe one student, for that matter.

Stefan had met Elena during the first day of school, here in Mystic Falls. That wasn't exactly the first time he had seen her. Stefan had been following Elena since the day he saved her when the car she was riding with both of her parents went off of the bridge and into the river. He wanted to save her father first but the man had adamantly pointed at his daughter. Stefan understood this and went on to save her. In the end, both her parents died before Stefan could save them. Elena was unconscious at that time therefore, she hadn't seen Stefan.

He was completely beyond shock the first time he had laid eyes on her. She looked exactly like Katherine. Stefan had fled the scene after realizing this and stayed at his home for several days without going out. He was deeply terrified to find out that that monster was still alive.

After he had regained enough control, he went on to do a background research on her. He found out that Elena was indeed not Katherine and her family name was Gilbert and not Pierce. Nonetheless, Stefan still couldn't shake the feeling that they were related. That kind of uncanny resemblance was utterly hard to come by.

So, he went on to dig deeper and deeper into Elena's history. After some efforts, he finally obtained Elena's birth certificate. That was when he learned that she was actually adopted by the Gilberts.

_One hell of a resemblance, _he thought. Of course, Elena was not at all similar to Katherine. Their personalities were polar opposites. Katherine was a manipulative, vengeful and controlling bitch while Elena was lovely, kind and friendly. However obvious the differences were, Stefan knew his brother wouldn't agree with him.

_Damon. _Stefan wondered why his brother had returned to live with him after he'd last seen him fifteen years ago. Over the years since he became a vampire, he had only gotten to see him several times. His brother never told him he came to visit. One day, Stefan just found out that he had moved all of his belongings into the boarding house. Damon had come to live with Stefan before but Stefan was not convinced that he had done that because he craved his company. He knew that whenever Damon was in town, he must have got something to do. And now, Stefan was trying to find out what had actually forced his brother to return to their hometown.

_God, how I hope he knows how much I miss him when he's not around. _He had gotten used to feel happy when Damon was around him and become sad again when he left. Over time, their relationship had somehow improved even though they hardly spoke with each other. Stefan felt that it was enough that his brother still acknowledged him. He never talked about the past with him. They continued in each other's company with Stefan yearning so much to close the distance between them and Damon seemed uninterested in it. _Maybe I hurt him too much. _

Nevertheless, he always knew that at the bottom of his heart, Damon still cared for him. Sometimes, he noticed the way his brother looked at him or when he did those things like giving him a small smile or even a smirk after doing something like this morning; he knew his brother also wondered if Stefan still felt the same way about him. _I always do, Damon. _

After he had cleaned himself and dressed for school, Stefan made his way downstairs. As he was crossing the living hall, his eyes caught Damon sitting on one of the couches. He seemed to be reading something.

When he approached the door, his brother suddenly spoke up. 'Give my best to your lady friend, Stefan.'

He froze in his steps and turned to regard his brother. In a blink of an eye, he was suddenly standing face to face with his brother who was smirking a little at him.

'How…how did you know about Elena?' Stefan softly asked.

'Oh come on, Stefan. You don't think I'd miss out on anything remotely fun about your sad, boring life,' Damon calmly answered.

_Yes. Of course. An eternity of misery. You won't allow me to become happy about anything or because of anyone. _Usually Stefan would ignore what his brother did even though he was overcome with heartache. He realized what he had done to his brother to deserve this and he felt so guilty about it. But the thought of Elena seemed to elicit a new, different response from him. Although they had just hung out together several times, he had grown fond of Elena and her friends. He had felt accepted; it almost felt like he was having a normal life again. This had made him feel more protective about them, the same way he would feel when his best friend, Lexi (though they only met each other occasionally) was in any way threatened.

'Damon…stay away from her,' he determinedly told his brother.

Damon was staring at him questioningly. He could almost hear his brother speak,_ Or what?_

'Please,' he softly implored. Though how hard he tried to stand up to his brother, Stefan often found himself too guilty and scared to do something that could make the gap between them grow ever larger. Instead, he settled to just pleading.

After a while gazing at each other, his brother turned on his heels and walked back to the couch while speaking to him. 'I don't care who you're hanging out with, Stefan as long as they're good company. You know, I don't like you hanging out with losers and all. The girl however, seems nice.' Damon finished and threw a wink at Stefan.

Not knowing what else to say, Stefan said, 'Thank you.'

'You're welcome, little brother. Now, aren't you late for school?' His brother had turned back to his reading.

Smiling a little, he made his way out the door. Suddenly, he heard Damon speak up.

'Just remember, Stefan. She's not _her. _Don't let history repeat itself.'

He once again froze in his steps before he quickly recovered and stepped outside.

On the way to school, Stefan contemplated on his brother's reaction.

_I hope this isn't some sick game to him. I have to keep Elena and her friends safe. I can't let Damon hurt anyone else just because he wants to hurt me. I won't let him do that. I have to protect them. _

_Even though he might kill you? _He heard his own mind question him back.

_No, Damon wouldn't do that. If he wanted to kill me, he would have done that a long time ago. He may well have wanted me to suffer but he never would have wanted me dead. I know he still cares about me. Somehow._

He smiled a little when he remembered his brother's concern about his choice of friends this morning. He knew that it probably meant nothing but still, the thought strangely comforted him.

If anything, Damon had called him 'little brother' earlier. His brother might not have realised it but Stefan did. It had been over a century since his older brother used to call him that.


	3. Old Friend

**CHAPTER 3**

Stefan went back to his house after school with a strong determination. He was going to have a talk with his brother about Elena. He would tell him that she was not Katherine; that her existence wouldn't matter in the least to Damon. He was going to tell him to stop whatever he was planning for him and Elena and damn well leave them alone. He didn't know how mad his brother would be and how much further this would push him – he was scared a little of this prospect – Stefan knew he just had to try. After all, he would finally be getting a real argument from his brother in over a century.

'Damon!' Stefan called out to his brother as soon as he got in. Silence greeted him. He repeated his brother's name several more times. The calm atmosphere in the house however, remained unruffled by his persistent shouting.

After a while, he realised his brother must have gone hunting. _No doubt to feed on innocent townspeople, _he thought to himself. Willing his mind not to think any further on that and sending out a wish that Damon wouldn't do anything worse to whoever his victim was beyond feeding on them, Stefan made his way upstairs.

When he entered his room, he quickly noticed something was amiss. His immediate conclusion was that Damon had been in his room, judging by the fact that the perpetrator had not bothered to clean up the mess they had left behind. Then again, they could be someone else.

He saw several of his diaries from the last century left open on the table near the window at one side of the room. _Could there be anyone else who was interested in your private life other than Damon? _– his mind reasoned. Stefan felt a hot feeling rising up to his neck and behind his ears. His brother was probably trying to search for something suitable he could use against him later but he was afraid that Damon might have found something else in the pages of his diaries. He had thought that he had hidden every last one of his journals quite successfully but apparently he was sorely mistaken. Plus, he had been convinced though his brother might not have been close to him like he used to, he still had enough respect for him not to go burrowing into his private journals.

As he was quietly considering how he was going to take up this issue with his brother, he suddenly felt a figure pushing him from behind and pinning him to the nearest wall. He yelped in shock and began to speak when a hand clamped over his mouth, effectively causing him to shut up.

'Stay still. You're going to listen to me now. Or…'

Stefan's eyes went wide with surprise as he listened to the same female vampire's voice from his dream. He immediately stopped moving and waited for the woman to continue speaking.

'Very good.' After a few seconds, she added, 'This is a lot of fun.'

Stefan glared and huffed disapprovingly as the other vampire relinquished her hold on him and he turned to face her.

She was chuckling at his reaction and Stefan was not at all amused by that. He continued to glare at her.

'Oh…come now, dear Stefan…don't you miss me?' the older vampire pretended to pout.

Couldn't withstand the woman's charm any longer, he began to grin contentedly.

'Of course it's nice to see you, Lexi.'

* * *

><p>Stefan and his best friend, Lexi were sitting on the former's bed facing and smiling at each other affectionately. Words couldn't express how nice it was for them to see each other again.<p>

'So, what brings you here?' he asks casually.

'What? I can't even see my dear Stefan when I want to?' Lexi feigned a look of hurt. Stefan rolled his eyes.

'Ha ha. Well, you most certainly can.' He finished with a dazzling smile. 'You didn't answer my question though. What is it?'

It was the older vampire's turn to roll her eyes. 'Stefan, you honestly don't remember?' She raised one of her eyebrows.

It took a few seconds before Stefan answered her question. 'Hmm… I'm afraid I have no idea.'

'Oh honey, you're so cute when you do things like that. You know, you care for other people so much you forget to celebrate good things for yourself. It's your one-hundred-and-sixty-second birthday!' With that, she threw a pillow at him.

'Wait, what – Oh!' Stefan looked a bit surprised while Lexi looked over at him sympathetically. She quickly resumed her cheerful manner though and hit Stefan's shoulders playfully.

'We have to figure something out. I mean, we can't just sit here in this gloomy house doing nothing for your birthday. It's your special day, you deserve some treat.'

'N-no. You don't have to. I really don't care,' Stefan told the older vampire truthfully. Lexi however, continued to persuade him.

'Come on, Stefan. It's the only day I get to have you all for myself. You know I don't visit you often. It's my way of making it up to you.'

The young vampire just stared at her with affection in his eyes. He knew Lexi was only trying to make his day less boring and more cheerful. She always made him happy. She had always been there for him, helping him through the dark early days of his vampirehood and guiding him to become who he was right now. Without her, Stefan would surely be lost to the carnage, bloodlust and those dark parts of being a vampire which he would never wish to revisit ever again. At times, he also thought of her as an older sibling; she made him feel like family. She made him remember how having a family was like. She was also the one who had insisted for him not to give up on Damon.

Stefan finally relented. 'Alright.' Lexi was so excited to hear Stefan agree to listen to her that she went on and hugged him.

'Okay…what's this about?' Both of them froze a little in their hug before they slowly broke apart. Damon had walked into the room unannounced. 'Ah – sorry I didn't recognise you, old lady. You look different. Did you get a new hair?'

Lexi sighed. 'Yeah, I did. What are you doing here, Damon?' Lexi spoke tiredly.

Damon was walking towards the window. 'You realize that this is my house, don't you? I should be asking you that question.' Damon cast a look back at the vampire.

'I've come to visit Stefan. It's his birthday so, of course I would be here.' For a moment, Damon continued to gaze at her before he dropped it and began to walk out of the room.

'Absolutely – I almost forgot. There's a party tonight at the Grill. Maybe we should all come.' Stefan was caught off-guard by what his brother said but Lexi was beginning to feel excited again. 'Fantastic!' she proclaimed happily.

The younger vampire however, didn't think so. 'Um – Damon – I don't think that's a great idea–'

'Oh, relax Stefan. It's not even a party for you. You don't have to come if you don't want to,' Damon replied exasperatedly. He left the room without another word leaving his little brother slightly hurt. Lexi quickly attempted to lighten up the mood.

'Stefan,' she said, smiling. 'You have to come tonight. You've agreed, remember? I won't take any excuses from you.'

Stefan wasn't showing any emotion at first but after a while, he sighed. 'Alright, I'll go. On one condition though,' he held Lexi's gaze. 'Please don't make me _dance._'

* * *

><p>They were at the Grill, enjoying the party. Stefan was clad in his favourite t-shirt covered by a leather jacket with a pair of simple jeans. Lexi was dressed in an immaculate black outfit that clung to her curves perfectly. There was no sight of Damon though; he must be off doing whatever it was he was doing.<p>

Elena and her friends were there as well, after she was asked to come by Stefan when she unexpectedly turned up at his house earlier in the afternoon. Lexi was freaked out when she opened the door thinking she was Katherine the vampire despite having been told by Stefan about the physical resemblance between the two. Thankfully, Stefan was there in a minute and invited Elena in because both of them didn't quite know what to say to each other.

It wasn't long into the conversation before Elena could see how friendly Lexi was and they quickly began to feel comfortable around each other. His vampire best friend had told Elena some of their past stories including the ones that made him blush unconsciously. He sighed and thought how grateful he was to have such wonderful friends as Lexi and Elena. Elena. Every day he felt his feelings towards the human girl grow stronger, but he didn't know if it would translate into something more. He had befriended her at first only because he was fascinated by the similarities between her and Katherine. He never had any girlfriend before, of that he could be sure. His first taste of love came from being compelled by Katherine. Even that had felt wrong, something not quite fulfilled. She forced him to love her. Even under compulsion, he was well aware that he didn't feel anything. He _had _to do what she told him to do, that he always knew. Of course, his memories about Katherine also reminded him of his failure to his brother. Each of his brother's words still hadn't lost its potency and forever etched onto his mind.

'_You've wronged me, you've wronged me so much, Stefan. You betrayed me. You stole the love of my life and you killed her. For all the years I have been standing up for you, protecting you, caring for you little brother, you just have to go and mess it up!'_

As always, Stefan wished he could do something to tell his brother that it wasn't his fault, that Katherine had compelled him – _Our love wasn't real! _– but he knew his brother wouldn't listen to him. This made him feel sad; this wasn't in the human definition of the word, for when you became a vampire, your every sense and emotion was heightened. Nobody would understand how he felt, not even Lexi. She didn't go through what he did. Losing Damon meant a great deal to him.

He turned around to see if Damon had gone in. Still, there was no sign of him. Suddenly, he saw Sheriff Forbes with her deputies and other uniformed men walk through the main door with a girl in tow. Her hair seemed a bit messy and she looked like she was crying. The Sheriff spoke something to her and gently stroked her shoulders. She was trying to calm the girl while simultaneously asking her to do something. Stefan slowly moved towards them while at the same time, trying to catch what they were saying using his superhuman hearing despite the loud blare of the music.

'It's alright. She can't harm you now. Just point her out to us so we can take her out.' He heard the Sheriff said.

After taking a deep breath, the girl raised a shaking finger towards someone at the bar. Stefan followed the direction her finger pointed and froze in place. A blond woman, wearing a beautiful black dress was laughing with several of her newfound friends, clearly oblivious to her surroundings. _Lexi. _

Stefan watched again as the deputies moved towards her best friend. When they reached her, she looked up at them questioningly. Without warning, one of the men injected something into her arm. She cried out in surprise and immediately went limp. Even from a distance, Stefan knew that the stuff they injected was _vervain. _The deputies quickly shoved her to move and walked her out of the Grill, each holding one of her arms tightly along the way. Some of the Sheriff's other men were trying to control the slight panic in the bar. Stefan, having recovered from his initial shock made a move to follow them before a set of strong arms closed around his body and caused him to stop. He quickly freed himself and turned around to face his older brother staring down at him.

'Damon…they took Lexi. I don't know what they want with her but I swear I have a feeling it's something bad. Please Damon, we must help her,' Stefan was speaking hurriedly and desperately. His brother however, remained impassive.

'You're staying here. Some kid got attacked while making out with the girl and they think it was a vampire.' Stefan's eyes went wide with horror as the comprehension dawned on him.

'Well, what are we waiting for? We have to rescue her!' He made to move away but once again, his brother's arms steadied him. Damon spoke and this time, it had an edge of protectiveness to it.

'No, you stay here. If you go and save her, there's a chance you may be discovered, too. I'll handle it.'

Stefan made to argue but after a few seconds, his brother's words sank in. Damon didn't want him to go because he was protecting him and instead, he would go. He was temporarily grateful to find that his brother was doing this because he cared for him. That gratefulness nonetheless did not lessen his fear for his best friend and now, his fear for his brother's safety. As if reading his mind, Damon answered his unspoken concern.

'I'll be alright. Just stay here.'

After squeezing his shoulders briefly, his brother walked through the crowd and out the main door. Suddenly, Elena was at his side.

'What happened, Stefan? Where are they taking her?'

He didn't know what to say. Instead, he excused himself and went out of the bar.

He walked until he reached the parking lot. They were there and that was when he saw what happened.

Lexi was fighting against her captors' hold futilely. In her vervain-weakened state, she wasn't doing much. Stefan could see Damon standing in front of her with something in his hand. The Sheriff was behind him. _What is he doing?_

Suddenly, Damon drove whatever he was holding right into Lexi's chest. There was a gasp of breath as the older vampire was struck back by the hard blow. Stefan's eyes grew wide with surprise. He instantly understood what Damon had just done. He had just witnessed his brother drive a stake through Lexi's heart and therefore killing her.

Unable to contain his emotions, Stefan turned away from the scene and ran away at his full speed. His heart was ripped into pieces. He couldn't care less where he was going at that time but Stefan knew he just had to get far, far away.

He stopped in the middle of the woods, screaming and crying heavily. He curled into himself on the ground, pain and heartache stabbing into his chest like a physical wound. He didn't know how long he continued like that, he couldn't be certain and wouldn't even bother.

_Oh sweet, dear Lexi. _Stefan wrapped himself to prevent his body from shaking. 'Why did he have to kill her? Why does he always have to take everything away from me? Why can't he let me be happy?' he screamed to the air, his voice full of anger and hurt.

_He doesn't love you. He doesn't care. He hates you. _

Stefan lost control of himself. He started to move around him very fast, punching and kicking everything in his path. When he was tired, he lay back on the ground, shaking uncontrollably for several long minutes, crying until he no longer had any tears left to cry.

* * *

><p>Damon was drinking in his study when Stefan suddenly appeared in front of him. The oldest Salvatore didn't look surprised, he merely raised his head to acknowledge his brother who was standing in front of his desk. Stefan looked at his older brother, hurt and grief filling his eyes.<p>

'Why…why did you do it?' asked Stefan, his voice breaking. For a moment, silence dominated the room though tension was palpable in the air.

'I had to do it. The council believes that a vampire may have come back to Mystic Falls. They were picking up the pieces, putting the puzzles together. We need to get them off our trails.' Damon answered with a slight strain in his voice.

Stefan closed his eyes and tried to process his brother's words. He tried to see the rationale behind it but his mind was already numb with emotions. He wasn't aware that Damon was staring at him, a pained look in his eyes.

His brother stood up and went towards him. 'I'm sorry.' Damon's hands reached to touch his shoulders.

Stefan suddenly opened his eyes. He pushed his brother's hands away and stared at him deep in the eyes.

'No, Damon, _I am sorry._ I shouldn't have thought that you would care about how I feel anymore. I shouldn't have dreamed that someday I can call you my brother again and watch you looking at me like you used to. I shouldn't have _hoped_ that someday we could go back to how we used to be so many years before…that I would have a brother…my older brother who loves me no matter what…who wouldn't have hurt me in any way…' Stefan didn't stop the tears that were flowing down his cheeks freely now.

Damon was looking at him without blinking, apparently shocked to hear his little brother's confessions. Before he could do or say anything, Stefan had moved very fast away from him. He stopped at the window and turned to look over at his brother.

'You promised me an eternity of misery. I don't blame you. I understand now that I was never important to you. Please forgive me about Katherine. I'm…I'm sorry, brother.' With that, he jumped through the window and ran into the night.

Damon sank to his knees, muttering the name of his little brother over and over. 'Oh Stefan – Oh little brother…what have I done?'


	4. A String of Memories

**CHAPTER 4**

Stefan was running without caring much about everything around him. His mind was set on only one destination. He had to get there. It was the most perfect place to do what he was planning in his mind right now.

When he reached the place, he was immediately overcome with emotions. The run had been somewhat liberating and comforting; he was allowed a momentary peace of mind as he focused on just getting to this place and at the same time, formulating his plan. The lake was ever as green, as calm and peaceful – similar as he remembered it when he brought his brother here for the transformation many years ago. It had borne witness to what had happened between Stefan and Damon that night, how his brother had left him after proclaiming his hate for him. This time, it would again bear witness to another fate concerning the two brothers.

The thought of Damon caused him instant heartache and brought up a surge of memories. These were the memories that he had fought to keep down all these years and were now only confined to the pages of his journals because he was afraid of the pain that they might bring if he allowed them to resurface. Tonight, he didn't care. Tonight, he was determined to let it all out because he needed to. They would become his company when he set out to do what he intended to do. One particular memory occupied his mind more than the rest.

_He was eight years old when he scraped his knee accidentally while playing with his older brother in the front yard. Damon, who was fourteen years old at that time, immediately went to his brother's side to help him. He hugged him and gently tried to calm Stefan who was crying into his shoulders. He carefully lifted his brother off the ground and brought him into the house. He cleaned the cut and bandaged the wound for Stefan. When he was finished, Stefan looked over at him with puffy eyes. He went on and hugged the little boy. He had stopped crying but Damon was feeling bad because he didn't take good enough care of his baby brother and let him get hurt._

'_I'm so sorry, little brother. I let you get hurt.' Damon said, his voice breaking a little. He kissed the top of Stefan's head while continuing to hug him. Stefan, who was quite a smart boy at his age, quickly replied, 'It's all right, Damon. It's not your fault.' _

_Damon smiled a little at his answer. Stefan would never blame anyone for whatever bad thing that happened to him. Damon however, blamed himself for not protecting him well enough. He hated to see his little brother get hurt; he loved him too much._

'_I promise you, little brother. As long as I'm around, I will never let anyone or anything hurt you. I will be there for you always, as long as you need me. I promise. I love you so much.' Damon hugged his brother tightly._

'_I love you so much, too. I'll never want you to leave me, Damon.' Stefan said, prompting tears to well up in his older brother's eyes._

Stefan smiled bitterly as he remembered his brother's promise. He wondered if Damon still hadn't forgotten about it. Somehow he knew that his brother would always protect him from anyone or anything bad. Except maybe, as things were now, from Damon himself.

His heart ached when he thought how much Damon hated him now. Before Katherine came, they were like the two closest brothers in the world. He remembered all of the times he spent with Damon; they hardly ever left each other's side. He shared everything with his older brother; his desires, his fears and even all of his secrets. There was not one single person on earth who truly knew him like Damon did.

_Fifteen-year-old Stefan went back from school that day feeling extremely upset and angry. He slammed the front door shut, raced up the stairs and went straight to his room. He threw his book bag furiously onto the table near the window as if that thing had personally done him harm. He lay down on his bed, mentally telling himself to take deep breaths and calm himself down. Suddenly, he heard someone knocking on his bedroom door. After a while, the door was opened and Damon walked in. He went straight to his little brother's bed and sat down beside him. He touched Stefan's arm gently. _

'_You want to tell me what happened?' Damon calmly said, raising one of his eyebrows. Stefan's face scrunched up for he was trying to hold down a sob. He suddenly sat up and hugged his older brother tightly._

'_Those idiots at school made fun of you and me, Damon. They said nasty things about how we are with each other. They said it's not ordinary. I despise them!' Stefan spoke angrily. _

_Damon was shocked to hear what his brother had said. He continued to hug his little brother and rubbed circles behind his back to soothe him. After some time, he spoke._

'_It's not a business of theirs to care about whatever we do. They know nothing about us. What they think does not matter, Stefan. Leave them in their ignorance. And besides, who says anything about ordinary?' Damon pulled back a little to look at his little brother. 'They are not as lucky as I am to have an extraordinary little brother as you are.' Both of them smiled at each other, genuine smiles that they only shared with each other and no one else. Damon went on to rub his nose with Stefan's. He pulled back to ruffle his little brother's hair before hugging him again. Stefan quickly forgot about his anger and he relaxed contentedly in his older brother's arms._

His tears started up again when he remembered how his older brother used to make him happy, most of the time just by spending time with him and how he used to hug and comfort him whenever he was feeling sad. He missed his brother's jokes and the playful gestures he made only to him. He missed the way Damon would hold him and tell him that everything was going to be okay.

'_Damon…why did you do it? Why do you want to leave me?' Stefan was sobbing heavily. His brother was there in his room standing in front of him, a pained expression on his face as he looked at the hurt in Stefan's eyes._

'_Stefan… I have to…the army is calling for volunteers… I couldn't just sit around and do nothing…' His heart was breaking as he tried to explain to his brother on why he decided to join the Confederacy. He made a move to hug Stefan but his little brother kept pushing him away._

'_Yes, you could! You could've chosen not to go! You could've chosen not to – not to leave me…' Stefan's voice shook with the intensity of the emotional pain he was experiencing. He dropped onto his bed and continued to cry into the palms of his hands._

_After a few moments, he felt the bed dip beside him and Damon's arms had encircled around his shoulders to bring him closer. Stefan briefly looked at his older brother's face; he felt guilty momentarily for causing the pain that was evident in Damon's eyes._

_His brother wrapped his arms around him, holding him tight. Stefan's head was on his chest. Damon brought a hand up to card his fingers through his little brother's hair while the other continuously stroked his left arm._

'_It's going to be all right, little brother…it's going to be all right… I won't be going forever… I'll come back for you…it's going to be all right…' His brother continued to soothe him and after a few minutes, Stefan relaxed and fell asleep in Damon's arms._

Tonight however, there was no one to hug him or comfort him or tell him that everything was going to be all right. He was all alone. All those years, he had been hoping that his brother would forgive him and return to his side, never imagining that he had truly abandoned him. He never believed that Damon would never forgive him. He never thought that he had hurt his brother so much to the point that he never cared for him anymore. He had believed that his older brother had still loved him even though he didn't show it.

And now, he got his answer. Now, he knew how his brother felt about him. Now, Stefan knew without a doubt that his brother had long since abandoned him. He didn't matter to Damon. His brother didn't care about how he felt. He took away everything from him including Lexi who was the only one who made him feel alive again. He had made good on his promise to give him an eternity of misery.

He looked up to the sky. The first light of dawn was emerging between the clouds. It was almost time.

Suddenly, the thought of Elena crossed his mind. He wondered what his brother would do with her. He was certain that Damon would find an interest in her. He felt a bit worried about Elena without his protection. He just hoped that whatever his brother was planning to do, he would not cause any harm to her and her family.

The thought of his brother's plan reminded him of his very own suspicion on why he had returned to Mystic Falls. He knew that the plan had got something to do with Katherine. It was always about Katherine.

While the thought of Elena had brought on his concern and caring feeling, the thought of Katherine instantly caused despise and anger to overcome him. That woman was the cause of his brother's hate for him. He wished Damon could see how wrong he was about Katherine. She didn't love them both. She was just playing with them, playing with their relationship.

Since he became a vampire, he could clearly remember what Katherine did to him, to them both.

_He was walking leisurely with Katherine in the rose garden in his father's estate. She arrived in Mystic Falls a couple of days ago and was taken into their home by Stefan's father, Giuseppe Salvatore. She immediately won the affection of his brother who was home after he had returned from his duty._

_As for Stefan, he was at first nervous around Katherine but he soon fell under her charm as well. They got along very well almost as if they had been best friends. _

'_So, I suppose you and your brother are very close?' she asked Stefan innocently._

'_Absolutely. I adore Damon. We love each other deeply,' he answered truthfully. She smiled at him._

'_And I love both of you. You remind me of two other brothers I know.' She continued to smile at him. _

_Stefan suddenly noticed Damon walking towards them. He turned to acknowledge his brother. It seemed that Katherine was aware of Damon coming as well. She quickly pulled Stefan to look back at her. _

'_I want you to ignore your brother and kiss me like you would your lover.' It was the first time he was compelled by Katherine._

_He went on to do exactly what she said. She pulled him into an embrace and their kiss was passionate, although Stefan didn't feel anything. His mind was blank and he just knew that he had to do what Katherine told him to do. Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw that Damon had stopped walking. After a while, he cleared his throat._

'_Ah – Mr. Salvatore, you…you caught us.' Katherine laughed nervously. Her surprise looked genuine. _

'_Katherine.' Damon nodded curtly. She returned the gesture. Damon's eyes then switched to Stefan. Sensing the tension she caused between the two brothers, Katherine hastily took her leave._

'_Well…I have to go. Excuse me, gentlemen.' With that, she left both of the brothers alone. _

_For a moment, they both stared at each other. Damon looked hurt and betrayed as evident through his expression. Stefan was immediately overpowered by a feeling of guilt when he realized what he just did even though he didn't exactly know why he did it._

'_Oh God – Damon, please – I didn't know why – I'm – I'm so sorry–' he stumbled on his words trying to apologize to his older brother. He knew how much Damon adored Katherine, as his brother had confided in him. He had told Stefan everything. To see now that his little brother had decided to betray his trust…_

_Stefan seemed like he was about to cry. He was so scared of what his brother might think of him. He closed the distance between them and hugged his brother like he used to do every time he was scared when he was a child. 'I – I didn't mean to…' he spoke softly._

_Damon remained stiff. Stefan was beginning to feel really bad about himself when he suddenly felt his brother's arms closing around him. They remained like that for several minutes without speaking; both didn't quite know what to say to each other._

Stefan fought back the fresh tears that were threatening to spill out of his eyes. Nevertheless, he knew he wouldn't be able to force them down much longer as he remembered the event that had truly ruined his relationship with his brother.

_He and Katherine had been on the bed in his room for several hours. He was of course, under compulsion. He seemed like he was having fun as they laughed and fooled around with each other when in fact he wasn't; he did it all because she had compelled him to do so. He was utterly powerless. There was nothing he could do to stop it even though somewhere in the distant part of his mind he knew he shouldn't be doing this. He knew Damon would be upset by him terribly._

_Suddenly, his bedroom door was pushed open. Damon was standing in the doorway. He looked beyond shock…and angry. It was at that time that Katherine had decided to release him from her compulsion. Stefan realized what he was doing and immediately got off the bed. _

_Damon turned away from the room and Stefan quickly went after him. He caught his brother on the stairs as he was going down. 'Damon, wait –'_

_The rest of his speech was lost when his brother roughly pushed him up against the wall. Damon's light blue eyes bore into his green with such intensity that conveyed all the pain and grief bottled up inside him. Stefan was deeply shocked and speechless because this was the first time his brother had ever looked at him with such hurt in his eyes._

_After a few moments, Damon released him. His older brother continued downstairs and walked out through the front door without once looking back. _

Stefan closed his eyes as he allowed the tears to flow freely. He needed to face all of these memories. The good ones helped to keep him company while the sad ones reminded him of why he needed to do what he was doing.

He opened his eyes as he felt the sunlight touching his face. He looked up at the sky, so peaceful and beautiful. Slowly, he pulled the Lapis Lazuli off his fingers and let it fall down to the ground.

The ray of light that was before so beautiful and calming quickly turned vicious as it mercilessly burned his skin. He screamed aloud when the pain became unbearable. Knowing that he was nearing his end, Stefan spread out his arms in a welcoming gesture to his own death.

His last thoughts were about his older brother, his mind filled with Damon's voice from his memory. _I love you, little brother._

'I love you, too.' And then, everything went—.


	5. Found

**CHAPTER 5**

Stefan felt his consciousness slowly slipping away. He willed himself to embrace the darkness as he prepared to let go of everything. His mind had already become muted to the protests of suffering from the rest of his body. The pain was unbearable but he knew it would all be over soon. Afterwards, he would become nothing; no more pain, no more life, no more nothing_. _

There was a blur; an object rammed into his left side and Stefan was suddenly sprawling on the ground, beneath the trees and away from the scorching effects of the sun. He tried to clear his vision as his mind desperately attempted to register this new development. He was unsuccessful though for his grief and the subsequent effects of the pain from burning in the sun had caused his mind to become exhausted and therefore, he was slowly losing his consciousness again. A few seconds before he passed out, he managed to catch a glimpse of what had hit him. It was someone…and he had just about enough of the details to make out who the person was. _No, it can't be. My mind must be playing tricks on me. It wants me to hope... _

'Elena?' was all he managed to say before darkness overtook him once again.

* * *

><p>'Stefan – Stefan, wake up – please, little brother – wake up…'<p>

Stefan awoke with a gasp as if waking up from a nightmare. His eyes quickly adjusted to his surroundings and for a moment he could not remember anything that had happened. He looked up and was confused to see Damon crying over him. But then, every single piece of event began to reassemble inside his head and he was immediately overcome with pain and heartache.

'Stefan! Thank God you're still…' The rest of his brother's words were lost as he roughly pulled Stefan into a fierce hug. Damon kissed the top of his head and held on to him as tightly as he could.

'I've got you… I've got you now, little brother…' His brother continued to cry; he had brought one hand up to card his fingers through Stefan's hair gently with Stefan's head now rested upon his right shoulder. He did so repeatedly while muttering words of comfort to his little brother.

Stefan was shocked at first by Damon's reaction – his face was blank and his body was stiff. He wanted to lean into his brother's embrace so much but he couldn't. He just couldn't do it. He couldn't believe that this was really Damon; hugging him and comforting him like Damon of old used to do. No, he had lost his older brother a long time ago. This Damon hated him. He took everything away from him. Suddenly, the thought of Lexi and his suicide plan crossed his mind. He let out new sobs as his heart began to ache terribly and Damon seemed to tighten his arms around his body again.

Stefan determinedly broke apart from his brother. Both of them were sitting on the ground. He wiped the tears furiously on his shirt sleeve and stared deep into his brother's eyes. For a moment, Damon's eyes were filled with shock and he reached out to touch Stefan's arm. He flinched away from his brother's outstretched hand but continued to hold his gaze. Damon's light blue orbs changed from a reflection of hurt to that of grief and pure regret.

'How…how did you find me? Why are you here – You…hate me…' Stefan's voice broke at the last sentence and he tried so hard to control himself.

'Stefan… I…' He could see his brother's face was contorted with emotion; he was evidently trying to remain in control of himself.

Damon extended his hand to brush his little brother's cheeks. This time, Stefan didn't flinch away. 'I'm sorry… I am sorry, little brother… I am so sorry… I love you… I never… I never hated you… I mean, goddamnit, you are my little brother, Stefan…you always will be…'

Stefan looked at his brother without blinking while Damon looked back at him with pleading eyes. His brother's words had touched something deep inside of him. Immediately, he felt all of his pain and heartache turned into relief and comfort. He knew his brother had meant all of the words he had just said. He knew it without a doubt.

'Damon…'

'Come here…' Once again, Stefan was pulled into his brother's tight embrace. This time, he returned his brother's hug with the same fervor. He held on to Damon desperately as if he was holding on for dear life. He let himself break down completely in his brother's arms; he buried his face in his shoulders and began to cry uncontrollably. Damon continued to soothe his little brother without fail...

'I'm sorry for everything that I had ever done to you, Stefan… Please forgive me, little brother…' Damon said this repeatedly while hugging Stefan. Stefan's only response was the tightening of his arms around Damon's torso.

They stayed like that for several long minutes. After they managed to gain control of themselves, both of them pulled away and stared at each other as if they had just found each other again after all these years. They both had a smile on their faces – genuine smiles that clearly showed how much the brothers loved each other.

'I missed you, Damon.'

Damon brought a hand up and ruffled Stefan's hair the way he used to do when they were humans. 'You're not going to lose me again, little brother. I won't leave you again. I promise.' Stefan's eyes were glistening as he listened to his older brother's words. Damon's fingers brushed over his right hand and when he looked down at it next, the Lapis Lazuli was back on his middle finger.

'In return, I want you to promise me that you won't do anything as stupid as trying to kill yourself again. And…hold on to that ring.' Damon finished with a small smile.

Stefan raised his eyes back to look at his older brother and smiled. 'I promise.'

Before he could say anything else, his brother was suddenly standing and offering a hand to help him get on his feet. Stefan took the hand with a grin on his face.

When he had stood up, Damon playfully pinched one of his ears. 'Ow,' Stefan pouted. Damon, grinning, put his arm around Stefan's shoulders and pulled his little brother close to him.

'Now let's go home, little brother.' The smiles never once left their faces as the two brothers made their way back to the boarding house.

* * *

><p>They were in the bedroom of the younger Salvatore. Stefan was leaning on the headboard and Damon was sitting on the chair nearby. He was drinking the animal blood his brother had prepared for him.<p>

'_Get some rest, Stefan.' Damon said while tucking him into the bed. 'In the meantime, I'll go and catch some bunnies for you.' He was gone in an instant. _

Stefan smiled as he remembered all this. _My big brother really has come back, _he thought contentedly.

'Feeling better?' Damon asked from where he sat.

'Much better. Though for future reference, I don't really like bunnies as a meal,' he answered.

His brother looked amused. 'Oh…sorry, I forgot. The idea of killing cute little rabbits must be extremely hard to deal with by Saint Stefan.'

'Shut up, Damon.' Both of them chuckled happily. Stefan threw a pillow at his brother who swiftly caught it. Damon got out of his chair and moved to sit beside him on the bed. 'My caring little brother…' he heard his brother say affectionately while he ruffled his hair. Stefan looked at him with the same affection in his eyes.

'Damon?' he spoke after a while.

'Yes?'

'How did you find me? Did you know I was at the lake?'

The older Salvatore was silent for a moment before he answered. When he spoke next, he was looking down at his hands. 'I didn't know, Stefan… I guess, I just followed my instincts, you know… My heart was telling me that you'd be there… I wanted to find you so much I guess, something must have guided me…it led me straight to where you were…' Stefan was beginning to feel touched again. He was looking at his brother but Damon continued to look down while he resumed speaking.

'I tried to get there as fast as I could. When I reached the place, I couldn't see you anywhere. I began to panic at first but then… I saw this…' His brother took his right hand into his own and touched the ring with his fingers. His voice was shaking as he continued. 'I immediately thought of the worst… I cried your name a few times and I looked around…that's when I saw you…lying under the closest tree to the lake… I was… I had never been so grateful in my life…I quickly rushed to your side…and then, I tried to wake you up… I was so relieved that I didn't screw up enough…' At the last sentence, Damon raised his head up to look his brother in the eyes. 'I can't lose you.'

Stefan closed the distance between them and hugged his brother tightly. At that moment, he was so thankful for his brother and so happy because he was right now in his brother's arms. Damon put his chin atop his head while holding him tight.

After a while, they pulled apart again. 'Ah well… I'm glad to have you back. My life wouldn't be complete if I couldn't make annoying jokes about my baby brother…'

Stefan pretended to glare and crossed his arms over his chest. 'Huh… I'm glad you thought they were annoying.'

'I know somebody enjoys them very much.' Damon winked at his little brother. Stefan broke into a wide grin as his brother poked him playfully on his left side. He tried to retaliate but his brother caught his hands in his own and continued to tickle him. Both of them were chuckling happily as they played with each other just like how they used to do many years ago, before everything that had happened, _before Katherine._

Stefan suddenly grew silent as the revelation started to dawn on him. Damon, who was laughing incessantly, slowly stopped what he was doing and looked up. His hands were still holding his little brother's. Stefan had gone pale and his body stiff. Damon immediately looked concerned again. 'What's wrong, little brother?' he asked.

'Damon…you said when you found me, I was already lying beneath the tree, right?' Stefan returned with another question. His brother nodded his head.

'So…you weren't the one who pushed me out of the sunlight…' Stefan was looking at his brother.

'Stefan, I… when I found you, I thought some miracle had happened… I was just so relieved to see you alive – I wasn't thinking of anything else. Wait, are you saying that there was someone else there before I found you?' Damon's face began to take on a confused look.

'When I thought I was about to die…' Damon tightened his grip on his brother's hands. 'I felt something hit me hard on my left side and… the next thing I know, I was sprawling on the ground beneath the tree. I couldn't remember much after that because I was slowly losing consciousness again. But, I did catch a glimpse of my savior. It was someone.' Stefan looked at his brother worriedly, his eyes calculating. Damon's eyes had gone wide after listening to his little brother's words.

'Are you saying that…the way that person saved you…' His brother looked thoughtful for a moment. 'Was it a vampire?'

Damon's voice sounded a little strained. This time, it was Stefan's turn to nod.

'Well, you said you caught a glimpse of whoever it was. Did you know who that vampire was?

'It was a vampire all right.' Stefan spoke again. 'And I think I know who it was. At first, I thought my mind was just conjuring up my own memory…of someone I know – I couldn't possibly figure out why… But now, I'm certain it wasn't just a memory. It was someone else. A person who closely resembled someone from my memory…'

Damon, who had been listening intently the whole time, continued to look puzzled. 'Someone who resembled closely to someone else from your memory?'

'Yes. A dead ringer of the other person.' Stefan replied.

'But…how could that be?' His brother muttered aloud. Stefan watched as the look of understanding slowly permeated his brother's features. Damon's voice sounded a little chilled as he asked his little brother again. 'Who did you think it was at first, Stefan?'

Stefan knew Damon must have dreaded the answer he was about to give him. He gulped as he uttered the name.

'Elena.' Damon's face changed rapidly into a look of disbelief as he took in Stefan's words. 'And the vampire who saved me. She must be…'

'Katherine.' Damon softly said.


	6. Meeting

**Sorry guys, I've been missing! I hope this chapter is enough to make it up to all of you my readers out there. Regarding the last chapter, one reviewer actually commented that there were too many crying scenes in it and I do think it's too much. I just hope that I can edit all of my previous chapters so that they would be more polished. I hope you guys enjoy this and please review! :D**

**CHAPTER 6**

'Time to wake up, Stefan.'

Damon strolled into Stefan's room and lay down on the bed beside his younger brother who was lying on his side and had his back turned to him. Stefan didn't even budge from his sleep.

'Come on, Stefan. You're gonna be late for school.' Damon brought a hand up to pinch his brother's right ear. Stefan made a soft sound at the contact but he didn't open his eyes.

'Um…go away, Damon.' He tried to pull the blanket over his head.

'Yeah nice try, little brother.' Damon grabbed Stefan's hands to stop him from completing the action. He pulled Stefan closer and forced him to turn around so that he was facing him. Stefan opened his eyes and squinted at the man in front of him who had an amused look on his face. He pouted a little at his brother and closed his eyes again. He wrapped his arms around Damon and laid his head on his chest. He could hear his brother sigh aloud and feel his fingers carding through his hair. Damon meanwhile found this all too annoyingly cute.

'You know, baby brother, this isn't going to achieve anything. Just because we've both said our apologies and basically put whatever happened in the past behind us, it doesn't mean that you can have your way with me…right, little brother?'

Damon tickled Stefan on his sides and hugged him tightly when the boy began to squirm and cry loudly. He continued to tickle him when he got a strong grip on his little brother who had fastened his slender arms around Damon's larger body and whose cries muffled as he buried himself in his older brother's chest.

'Damon, stop. Please stop.' Stefan raised his head to look at Damon and once again, pouted at him. Damon chuckled.

'All right. Are you ready to get up now?' Stefan nodded his head slowly. 'Okay, now go and take a shower and then we can have breakfast. You've got twenty minutes. _Don't be late._' Damon said the last sentence slowly and with a mock warning tone.

'What do you mean by breakfast, Dee-Dee?' Stefan responded with a cheeky grin. Damon rolled his eyes at the implication in his brother's query and the fact that he had just called him by the childhood nickname he had bestowed on Damon when he was a baby and still couldn't pronounce Damon's full name right. Stefan used his vampire speed to get off from the bed and fetch a towel then immediately went into the bathroom.

Damon got up from Stefan's bed and shouted loudly. '20 minutes, Stefan. I mean it.' After that, he walked out of the room and went downstairs to wait for his little brother.

Stefan didn't take much time to get ready for school. He realised that he was quite late as it was and despite that now his brother was open with his affections, he still wouldn't want to make Damon even just a little bit angry. It might be described as fear but what Stefan actually felt was love and respect towards his older brother. He wanted to listen to his brother because he wouldn't want to make his brother unhappy with him.

When he walked into the kitchen, Damon was at the table reading the newspaper. He had a cup of steaming coffee in front of him. 'Right on time, Steffy.'

Stefan smiled at the childhood nickname Damon had given him in response to his own for his older brother. 'Here, take the coffee. I've already had one.'

Stefan sat down and took the cup from his brother. They continued to stay in silence as Stefan finished his coffee. 'I thought you said you'd make 'breakfast'?'

'It's in the microwave.' Damon said without looking up from what he was reading.

'Oh.' Stefan exclaimed as he took out a large cup of animal blood from the microwave. 'Thank you, Damon,' he added cheerfully.

His brother just smiled without uttering a word. When Stefan had sat back on the chair and gulped the whole cup down, Damon folded the paper and turned towards him.

'All right, Stefan. I want you to listen to me.'

'Hmm?' The young vampire looked up at his older brother while licking on his lips. A little blood was trickling down from the side of his mouth, making him look rather innocent and positively cute. Damon couldn't help but chuckle a little at that.

'Steffy, I want you to take note of what I'm gonna say okay? Really listen, buddy.' Damon continued to speak and at the same time used his thumb to wipe away the blood on his little brother's chin.

'What is it, Damon?' Stefan asked.

'Well, in regards to what happened yesterday, you know…I want you to be more careful, okay? I know you promised me that you won't attempt it again. However, I want you to stay close to me and always have your cell phone on you at school so I can reach you anytime. And I know you don't like it but from now on, I want you to be back immediately after school and you cannot go out after dark. Besides, I'm gonna drive you to school.'

'But why?'

'It's for your protection, little brother. Katherine is back in town and I can sense something is up. She should have been dead in the church fire as far as we both know but now all of a sudden she made an appearance out of nowhere. For some reason, she saved you and just left you there. I think she knew I was looking for you and she didn't stay to wait if I was gonna turn up. She somehow knew I would find you there and she split before I even showed. She wanted you to be safe, which as far as I'm concerned, works well for me…'

Damon brought his chair closer to his brother and ran his thumb along his brother's left cheek. Stefan looked at his brother with worried eyes.

'It was a huge surprise to find out that she was still alive after all of these years. I spent the night thinking about what happened and I couldn't find the answer to the question. If she has always been breathing and running all this time, why couldn't she have tried to find me? I was always looking for her, little brother. In fact, I came here because of her…I will tell you about it later…right, look at the time…you're late for school, come on.'

One hand beneath his little brother's left arm, he pulled Stefan with him into a standing position. 'Damon…' Stefan softly said. Damon thought he was going to argue about the restrictions but his little brother hugged him instead.

'Okay…I'll do what you told me to do.'

Damon smiled, his face buried in his brother's hair and he held him tightly. After a while, they broke apart. 'Right, c'mon. Let's go.'

* * *

><p>'Hey, Stefan.'<p>

'Hi, Elena.'

They met each other in the hallway, both of them were on their way to their first class of the day.

'I saw Damon drop you off earlier. Did something happen to your car?'

'Oh, it's nothing. Actually, yeah. Something did happen. And uh, I don't wanna talk about it.'

Unlike Caroline who couldn't resist to probe into other people's privacies and was not satisfied until she got her answer, Elena pursued the matter no further. If her friend was going to talk about it, he would do so when he wanted to.

'It's nice to see you and Damon together. I would've thought he'd let you walk all the way to school if you had no transport.'

'Damon is better, Elena.' Stefan said, a little defensively.

'Oh, I'm sorry. I just thought…'

'Well, we might have problems with each other once in a while but like all sibling rivalries, they all pass.'

'Well…I'm glad for you, Stefan.' Both of them smiled at each other.

They arrived at the classroom and immediately took their seats. They continued their chatter in low voices as the English teacher drone on and on in front of the class. Stefan decided that he was not going to tell Elena about what had happened yesterday and that her doppelganger was somewhere in this town at the moment. He suddenly thought about Lexi and how he would have shared this piece of news with her. Now that she was gone, he was not certain if Elena could fill in the void. He felt a deep pang of loss and after a moment, he lost track of the time and the people around him.

The rest of the day went by in a blur. Elena was walking with Stefan as they went out to the parking space after school was over. Bonnie and Caroline were following them, laughing as they discussed a funny topic.

'You sure you're not going to the Grill with us?'

'No. I really can't. I have to be somewhere…with Damon.'

'What, is your older brother setting a curfew for you now Stefan? Does he also set your bedtime?' Caroline chipped in from behind. She giggled at the blush that appeared on Stefan's cheeks.

'Could you be more sensible, Care?' Elena said to the blonde cheerleader who continued to giggle.

'Right. Well, no. I really can't join you guys because there's some really important thing we need to do.' Stefan quickly said. He wondered how Caroline had managed to deduce what he was trying to hide from his friends.

'It's okay, Stefan. We'll see you tomorrow.' Bonnie said as she dragged Elena and Caroline away. Elena mouthed 'See you' to him before turning to her friends.

He felt someone touch his arm and turning around, he stood face-to-face with Damon. Stefan smiled at his older brother. 'Come on, let's go home. My car is parked over there.'

Stefan was still laughing at a joke that Damon had told in the car as he entered the boarding house. His brother was right behind him. His grin quickly vanished when he saw the figure in the middle of the room. He stood rooted to the spot.

'Hi Stefan, miss me?'

Damon was at first shocked to see the dark-haired woman who was throwing a seductive smile at both of them. She was wearing a dark purple tight, form-fitting dress with black heels and her hair was long and curled lusciously, definitely different from Elena's casual style.

'And Damon, how nice to see you, too.'

'Katherine.' Damon said, breaking out of his initial stupor and immediately stepped in front of Stefan. Stefan stayed behind his brother staring at the female vampire.

'Oh poor Stefan, you look like a scared little boy.' Damon could feel his little brother getting tensed so he slipped his right hand into his brother's left hand, pulling him closer and rubbing his palm with his thumb.

'What do you want, Katherine?' Damon spoke again.

'I want to have a conversation.'

'About what?'

Katherine continued to stare at Damon for a moment before turning around and took her seat on the couch. Damon turned sideways to look at his little brother who gazed back at him with worried eyes. He squeezed his brother's hand a little before letting go and gestured for his brother to come with him. Stefan followed his older brother and sat beside him on a different couch than where Katherine was sitting. He looked down at his feet while his brother watched Katherine closely.

'So how have you been? I figure you must have travelled a lot. I did, too. Who would've believed that after a century or so I still can't forget this little town. I have missed this place…and its people.'

'Get to the point, Katherine. Why are you here?'

'I miss both of you, that's why I came back.'

'Oh, cut the crap. You obviously didn't want to have anything to do with us if you were alive all these years and wouldn't even bother trying to make contact. You know, the Internet makes it quite easy nowadays to get in touch with other people.'

'Of course, that's not the only reason. I have some business in this town. None of your concern by the way.'

'So why did you come here?'

'I just want you to know that I'm back and well, if you wanna have a party or something, don't forget to invite me.'

'Not a chance. I'd rather burn at the stake than inviting you into my house.'

'I don't really need to get invited into this house, Damon. I can get in and out whenever I like. And you can't stop me because I'm older and I'm stronger than you. Besides, you owe me. I saved Stefan's life.'

Only by this time, Stefan was able to look Katherine in the eyes but he didn't say a word. He could feel Damon getting tensed beside him.

'Well, I'm grateful for that but don't think that I would do anything for you. You don't deserve that.'

Katherine was silent for a moment. 'I did come here to see you guys, especially Stefan. I wanted to see if he was okay after that insane thing he tried to pull off yesterday. I don't know what's going on between you guys which made him want to do that and it's none of my business. But I care for him all the same.' She paused to see the reaction on the brothers' faces.

'Also… I want to warn you. What I do in this town is my business so, stay out of it. Don't try to mess with my plan. You have no idea what you might get involved in.' She stood up from the couch and without waiting for the brothers, she continued to walk towards the door. Before she reached it, she turned around and looked at Damon.

'And Damon, I do care for you, too. Goodbye.'

With that, she was gone in a second. Damon stared down at the carpet for a while before he protectively wrapped his left arm around Stefan's shoulders.

'You okay, Steffy?' He lifted his brother's chin up so that he could be looking straight into his eyes.

Stefan nodded and rested his head on his older brother's shoulder. They stayed like that for a few minutes until the effect of the unexpected meeting wore off.


	7. Onward

**You know in my mind, Stefan is like a little boy always in need of a hug and Damon, the overprotective older brother. I love me some fluff! XD**

**Sorry guys, for leaving this story for so long. True-true, I had no idea what to do with it (actually, I still don't know where it's heading...). Anyway, I came back to it because I recently got back to watching VD. Yeah, I abandoned the series too after Season 2. So while I catch up, I'll try to think of stories to fold around these two brothers...so that it still follows the canon to some extent but the main point is, I just want a strong relationship between both of them. Let me know in the comment about what you think of this little chapter! xoxo**

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><p><strong>CHAPTER 7<strong>

It was nighttime. Stefan was sprawled on his bed. Books and papers were in a mess in front of him. He was writing on a pad and trying to concentrate very hard on finishing his essay. Stefan had never actually bothered with homework, he would usually compel whichever teacher who gave him any to forget about it and spare him the burden; however occasionally, he felt the need to do it just to keep up the pretence and cultivate the sense that he was really having a normal life. Furthermore, he quite liked literature so he didn't really mind completing the work for Mr. Davis, his English teacher. Stefan liked books and thus, he had a huge collection of classics stacked in the vast library of the Salvatore boarding house. Many of the books were the original first copies and several of them had even actually gone out of print. He took great care of the books and never let anyone borrow any of them, if he didn't trust the person who was asking for his permission. Quite a number of the books were gifts from other people – most of them were from his older brother, other friends and family when he was human, and a few were given by Lexi.

The sudden remembrance of his mentor and oldest friend caused Stefan to stop writing and his chest was instantly constricted with emotion. He hadn't gotten over Lexi's death in the space of two days since it happened. Of course, he had had a long talk with Damon after his older brother had taken care of him the day he almost killed himself. Damon made him vow several times that he wouldn't attempt anything like that ever again until he was absolutely convinced that Stefan had realised his mistake and did not lie when he promised. They spent the whole evening talking about their feelings, Katherine's mysterious appearance and the aftermath of Lexi's death. His older brother kept telling him that he was very sorry especially for his recent involvement in his friend's death.

When the talk ended, both of them had felt forgiven and Stefan had accepted the fact that Lexi was gone and though he hated what happened to her, his older brother was the only person he had gotten left, the only family he had had for a long time, and he loved him too much to put the blame for Lexi's murder on him.

Stefan could hear footsteps entering his room and having known who it was, he quickly composed himself. A second later, someone jumped on to his bed and a set of arms tackled him from behind, locking Stefan in a head grip.

'Ow, Damon!' Stefan cried, annoyed. His older brother just laughed and tousled his already messy hair. He let go of him when Stefan huffed disapprovingly.

'What are you doing?'

'School work.'

Stefan moved into a sitting position while Damon continued to lie there watching his little brother with a slight crooked smile on his face. Stefan was pleased at the attention. They just enjoyed each other's company for several minutes without speaking to each other.

Stefan continued writing to finish the essay he'd been working on for the better part of an hour and Damon, who was bored, would sometimes use his hand to pinch his brother's ear or nose or tickle him on his sides.

Stefan tried his best to ignore the annoying distractions but after some time, he gave up. Fixing a glare at his older brother, he told him, 'Damn it hell Damon, would you stop?' He threw the pen at Damon.

Damon stopped what he was doing and returned his brother's glare with a stern but playful gaze of his own, his eyes were like blue fires dancing in intensity. 'Watch your words, Stefan James Salvatore.'

They remained staring at each other until Stefan dropped his eyes and laughed softly. He spent another couple of minutes on his essay while Damon lapsed into silence. When he was finally satisfied with his work, he gathered his school stuff and put them in the bag which he later threw carelessly on to the floor near the foot of his bed.

'Come here, little brother.' Damon pulled Stefan to his side. They were spread diagonally across the bed and for a few moments, both of them just lay there staring up at the ceiling.

'Stefan, we need to talk about Elena.'

'What about her?'

'Well, you know Katherine is here and she has a plan. I'd love to bet otherwise but knowing her, Katherine must have found out about Elena. The human could be in danger.'

Stefan swallowed hard. He knew it would come to this. Wherever Katherine went to, death and danger would follow. He felt a strong protective instinct toward his human friend and he wasn't going to let Katherine harm her. Damon was looking at him with a concerned expression on his face.

'What should we do? We can't let Katherine hurt her.' Nervousness was evident in Stefan's voice.

'We'll keep her safe.'

'We have to keep her safe.' Stefan affirmed, with a slight desperate tone in his voice. Damon's light blue eyes fixed on Stefan's troubled sea green. Without a word, he made a promise and Stefan understood that he would do anything to keep Elena away from any danger.

'I think it's time to tell her what we really are. Sooner or later, Katherine will find her and she will know about vampires. At least if she knows now, we can offer her some protection.'

'How do you intend to protect her?' Stefan asked.

'We can tell her a bit about the vampire stuff; vervain, wooden stake and all that. The most important thing is we have to tell her who Katherine really is and how absolutely _lethal_ she can be.'

'Damon, please do what you can.' It was a long time ago his little brother had begged him to do something. Damon was touched.

'Don't worry. I'll handle it.'

'I'll ask Elena to drop by our house after school tomorrow and both of us are going to explain to her about,' Stefan made a wide gesture with his hand, 'all this.'

'I actually think that you should get her to invite us for dinner tomorrow night. I got some stuff to do in the afternoon and I can't leave you alone. You need supervision.'

Stefan threw his older brother a look. He remembered the promise he made to Damon before, though.

'What stuff, Damon?'

'All in due time, little brother. So, can you do what I ask?'

'Sure. I'll get her to do it.' Stefan paused for a while before he resumed speaking.

'I, of course, have no problem getting invited to have dinner at her house but I'm not sure about you though. I already told her a bunch of stories about us and last time I checked, she believes you are a selfish, terrible and totally evil older brother.'

Stefan tried to maintain a straight face but his brother's unsure expression—plus his mouth was hanging slightly open—caused him to giggle.

'Oh, you are laughing at me now, kid?' Damon grabbed his little brother who immediately turned away from him, and prodded him mercilessly. Stefan continued to laugh as he tried in futility to get out of his brother's arms and then, they were both laughing hysterically. After his little brother had seemed to genuinely beg Damon to release him a couple of times, Damon ended his little torture and brought Stefan around to face him.

'That'll teach you not to badmouth your older brother behind his back again, do you hear me?' Damon said in a playful tone as he held Stefan still in his arms. He cupped his little brother's cheek and stared deep into his eyes, their faces mere inches from each other. Stefan's mouth curled into an innocent boyish grin and his green eyes were bright and alive as he locked gaze with Damon.

'Ask Elena if she could have us for dinner tomorrow night, all right?'

'Both of us?' Stefan asked, still grinning.

'_Yesssss_. Both of us.' Damon couldn't help but smile, too. He pulled back a little and kissed the top of Stefan's head. The older vampire then turned around and got up from the bed. He ruffled Stefan's hair once more before saying goodnight and walking out of the room.


End file.
